Chapter 100: The Vanguard

Chapter 100: The Vanguard

They were already hundreds of yards from the entrance when it started to close, as Jordan knew it would. It had to. A narrow set of stairs down into the darkness to defeat the thing that had done all this without a single guard in sight was obviously a trap.

Still, that certainty hadnt been enough to stop him from obediently following the Crusades Paragon. His only act of defiance had been to count his steps as they went because Jordans backup plan was never far from his mind. Hed sworn to himself that he would fight alongside these brave men until the end, but at the same time, he had no wish to become the very thing that they were fighting once he died.

He hadnt really wanted to stay behind in the Temple of the Dawn either, though. Hed never personally been to a place that reeked of evil and death as much as that place. Well, at least not until he descended the stairs and made his way to the temple beneath it. There, amidst the miasma of evil that was so strong it was almost palpable, he made sure to stay close to the Paragons light even as the darkness crowded around them.

Fear not, my brothers, Brother Faerbar said as the stone door theyd entered slowly rumbled shut somewhere behind them. We are not trapped down here. It is the monsters of the pit that are now trapped in here with us!

There was a rallying cry from the other men to accompany that, which was frighteningly loud as it echoed into the dark. After that, Jordan could hear the other men talking about how the Paragon had done exactly this sort of thing before when he purged Fallravea of the degenerate Oroza worshipers.

He found it hard to concentrate on that, though, with the dull echo of their earlier. In fact, as he listened, he realized that the echo was getting louder again like it was coming back to them.

Sir ummmm, your Paragon-ness, I think that Jordan started to say, but the gruff older man interrupted him.

Theyre coming, he said quietly.

Jordan could hear it now. Even as everyone around him drew their swords, he could hear the distant rumble getting louder and louder until it was nothing but a keening horde that was so loud he couldnt think straight.

Theyd passed through the main under temple, through the main exist, and had been following an elaborately tiled corridor with irregularly spaced exists on either side. Up ahead, the mage could see that the corridor expanded out into a large room, but even with the volume of the sound, or perhaps because of it, he couldnt quite figure out which direction the sounds were coming from.

Part of him wished hed just stayed at Abenend and died with his friends. He would have still died and been raised as a soulless servant of some dark god, but at least he would never have had to endure the sights hed seen tonight.

Then suddenly, without warning, he was grabbed by the color of his robes. He thought for sure that was the end, and rather than fight it, Jordan went limp and accepted his fate. No teeth knawed at his throat, though, and no sword was jammed through his heart. Instead, he realized too late that it was Brother Faerbar. Hed grabbed him, yanking the mage off his feet and pulling him behind him.

Jordan landed in a mound of the actually dead. At least, he hoped they were, as he pulled himself to his feet. They were in a small alcove that had been reduced to the storage of moldering dead. For a moment, he almost broke down in tears. He was never meant to be in such a place. He didnt give in, though. Being trapped like this made it easier. Now, Jordan knew he had only one choice. He started to chant.

Up until now, hed only channeled fire and lighting. They were easy enough spells that did great work against the shadows, but he would run out of mana long before this pit ran out of shadows, so he focused on the number of steps theyd take since they left the army behind. It was only 48 steps down and 200 steps eastish to get back to the temple entrance. That was doable, even with other people.

It was the solid stone between here and there that made that an iffy prospect. Well, that and the fact that there were certain to be more monstrosities waiting for him there.

The mage tried to ignore the Paragons desperate hymn as he fought back against some deathless monster in the doorway. He tried not to think about the fact that the fanatic was all that stood between him and a death too gruesome to mention as he focused on the facts.

It wasnt like he could just teleport the two of them free and clear anyway. The edge of the wall of shadows was just over five thousand steps away. That was too far for anyone but an archmage.

It felt like an impossibility, but he didnt let that stop him. The inescapable fact was that the last time hed cast this spell, hed ended up miles from anywhere hed meant to be and had been lucky to be alive. Every fiber of his being was telling him not to do it again, and yet he was certain that even a messy death where he ended up fusing with a tree or a wall and dying in agony was immensely preferable to whatever would happen to him after he died down here.

So, with that thought in mind, he aimed for almost a mile away, toward what he recalled as empty fields, while he focused on the words and the gestures necessary to bend the world to his will in such a complex way. His odds were certainly less than one in a hundred with all the complicating factors involved, but Jordan ignored them. Brother Faerbars light was flagging, and his strength was failing. It was time to roll the dice, so with his last syllable, he reached out and grabbed the shoulder of the Pargon and took him along for the ride.

Jordan was sure that the man would have vehemently refused such an act and that he might well kill him when they reached the other side, but it wasnt like they were leaving any of the living behind. Theyd been separated from the larger group and forced to face an endless series of monstrosities alone for a while now, and everyone who had stood by Brother Faerbars side was already dead.

As the world disappeared and vanished into a flash of light, he left with a clean consciousness. Jordans heart might have been pounding out of his chest, but this time he felt sure that he hadnt screwed up the spell.